The dark alley, with its lack of proper street lighting, was suddenly brightened.
If I were to say that the light source was a translucent, square window, completely see-through, like something you’d only see in a game, how many people who had lived ordinary lives would believe me?
[Considering the possibility of insufficient COST, the status window concealment is lifted.]
[A fatal injury has been detected in HAN SEUNGBEOM’s body.
Would you like to restart SEO YUTAE (100)‘s life from the beginning?
(YES/NO)]
Confronted with this unbelievable sight, the members could only stare up at it in stunned silence. For a moment, the thought crossed our minds that this might be an elaborate surprise camera taken too far, but the icy cold body before us denied that possibility.
How could it be faked when I remembered so vividly the movements of his body as he writhed in agony in the face of death?
‘What the hell is going on?’
Not even the words to ask what this was could come out.
The constant stream of shocking accidents had instilled in us a sense of learned helplessness, forcing us to simply watch in despair as it all unfolded.
[(NO)]
I saw the button marked ‘
NO
‘ being pressed among the two choice buttons.
[The selection of (NO) has been confirmed.]
We clearly didn’t show any reaction to it, yet it was as if some unseen force was controlling it. Then, the words in the window started flashing by too fast to read.
[Would you like to restore the body?
(YES/NO)
Skill Target: HAN SEUNGBEOM’s body
System Beneficiary Advantage Activated!
All remaining COST must be used to activate this skill.]
[(YES)]
This time, the
YES
button was pressed only after some time had passed.
And the number next to the word
COST
rapidly decreased to zero.
[Remaining COST 0
All skills in use will be stopped.
The real-time deletion of memories applied to SEO YUTAE has been stopped.
Please ensure that the mental contamination level is maintained at a normal level.]
Seo Yutae’s name was mentioned again.
I looked down at Han Seungbeom’s body again.
Immediately afterward, a red text appeared with a warning sound.
[(ERROR!)
Access by another user who’s not designated as the System Beneficiary has been detected.
Additional penalties will be imposed for future enforcement.]
And then, the blood that had been scattered across the asphalt like a mirage began to slowly draw itself back towards Han Seungbeom, seeping into his wounds. It was a sight that resembled a video playing in reverse.
[Starting body restoration. The restoration will proceed according to criticality … 0%]
The moment the number in the window rose from 0% to 1%, Jay, who had been lying on the ground holding Han Seungbeom’s body, slowly lifted his head with a dazed look. He then mumbled in a quiet voice.
“He’s alive.”
It was nonsense.
It couldn’t be true. I definitely confirmed that I could no longer feel his pulse.
Even with that thought, I couldn’t bring myself to give up hope, so I slowly moved my arm and ran my fingertips over his neck. And then…….
Thump, thump, thump.
I could feel a pulse, though it was much fainter than the one I had felt on the rooftop that day.
…His heart was beating.
As soon as I confirmed it, I could feel my heart beating faster and faster, like it was synchronizing with Han Seungbeom’s heartbeat. I didn’t care if what had just happened made sense or not. All I wanted was for this dreamlike situation to be real.
As if unable to believe it, Lee Chise checked Han Seungbeom’s pulse as well, his expression filled with disbelief as he muttered to himself.
“…He’s really alive. Let’s take him to a hospital right now. The nearest hospital is…….”
Just as Lee Chise, looking relieved, mentioned the hospital, the number in the window rose to 3%, and Han Seungbeom began to breathe shallowly. Jay, who had been staring blankly at Han Seungbeom’s face the whole time, saw the change and quickly interjected.
“No.”
“…….”
“…Let’s go to the studio. Hyung hates the cold.”
Jay, now openly referring to Han Seungbeom as ‘
hyung
‘, stood up, carrying his completely unconscious, limp body. Then, without hesitation, he walked toward the studio.
Han Seungbeom’s short golden hair was messily scattered over Jay’s black coat, and one of his arms, which Jay couldn’t fully hold in his embrace, dangled limply outside like a broken toy’s limb. No matter how one looked at it, the sight was far from normal. Cha Woon shook Jay’s shoulder, trying to snap him out of it. However, Jay didn’t budge and simply held onto Han Seungbeom as he began climbing the studio stairs.
Cha Woon, who had been clenching his jaw at the sight, decided he couldn’t let this continue. He stepped in front of Jay, blocking his path, and spoke the hard reality.
“What are you talking about? Even if his pulse came back by some miracle, his organs must already be damaged beyond repair. He needs surgery immediately!”
At the words, “
His organs must already be damaged beyond repair
“, the corners of Jay’s tear-stained eyes twitched convulsively, and his piercing eyes turned toward Cha Woon. Then, in a voice completely worn and hoarse, he quietly spoke.
“It’s not like we can call an ambulance right now anyway.”
“If the ambulance won’t come, we can just take him to the emergency room ourselves!”
“…How are you even going to explain this situation? Look, does this place look like the scene of an accident where someone got hurt? There was so much blood on the road, but not a single drop is left. And as the numbers in that window go up, doesn’t that mean my hyung’s condition is getting better?”
His flat tone didn’t match the situation.
If someone remained calm and collected in a situation where it was natural to be agitated, didn’t that mean they were in the most abnormal state? It felt as if, the moment he confirmed that Han Seungbeom was alive, he had let go of everything.
“Think about it. No matter how many times we reported it, the emergency services didn’t even respond. This accident absolutely can’t be known to others. Unless we’ve collectively lost our minds, my hyung survived because of that strange window. And from now on, he’ll keep getting better because of it. But if we do something stupid and get in the way for no reason, it’ll all be over.”
“…….”
“At least until that percentage is complete, we can’t show him to anyone.”
Is this really the right thing to do?
That thought kept nagging at me.
.
.
.
In the end, Jay refused to back down, and since all the members were feeling a strange sense of unease about revealing Han Seungbeom’s condition or the accident, we ultimately decided, ‘
If his condition worsens even a little, we’ll take him to the hospital right away’.
After laying Han Seungbeom’s body on the bed, we checked his condition, and to our surprise, his condition didn’t deteriorate any further, and he seemed to be recovering little by little. The percentage in the window was rising steeply at first, but at some point it started to rise at a very slow rate.
I watched that, and realized that he was probably recovering the minimum functions necessary for survival first, and the after-effects came later.
After confirming that Han Seungbeom’s body was recovering, we hurriedly began to wipe his body that was soaked with rainwater. Honestly, in the midst of all this craziness, I was completely at a loss for what to do. But the thought that Yutae-hyung hated the cold wouldn’t leave my mind, so I wiped away the moisture that was stealing his body heat and turned the heater up to its maximum temperature. After that, all we could do was wait.
Meanwhile, Jay…….
“No one goes out.”
At first, he just sat curled up beside the bed, blankly watching the percentage rise. But the moment Lee Chise mentioned going to check if the driver who had fled while the members were in chaos might still be nearby, he suddenly started getting agitated.
“Absolutely not. You can’t go out.”
“Jay-ya, I’m just going outside for a minute. Why are you acting like this all of a sudden!”
He was holding on to Lee Chise, half bent over as if he was struggling to breathe. His hands gripping his hair as he let out raw, intermittent screams.
“Just listen to me! Please!”
He gasped for air, his breaths sharp and scraping like metal being scratched, then stomped his heel against the floor as if overwhelmed by his own condition. He seemed completely lost, consumed by fear and anxiety. With each tremor of his body, thick droplets fell from his wide, unblinking eyes, splattering onto the floor and soaking it.
“…Me, please save me. I’m so scared, I feel like I’m going insane.”
After Han Seungbeom’s accident, it seemed like he believed everything outside could kill us. Jay was consumed by the fear of losing even the few precious things he had left.
“Okay, I’ll never step outside the studio. I’ll do whatever you want me to do, so calm down.”
Lee Chise, who couldn’t bear to look at the sight any longer, finally said those words. Only then did Yoo Jay whisper, “
Sorry, I’m sorry
…
” in an almost inaudible whisper, repeating it over and over. Unsteadily, he staggered back to the room where Han Seungbeom was.
And for every minute, he spent 50 seconds blankly staring at Han Seungbeom’s face and the remaining 10 seconds rushing over to check if we were still sitting in the same spot. Then, as if being chased by something, he hurried back to Han Seungbeom’s room again.
It crossed my mind that perhaps it would be best if we just stayed where Yoo Jay could always see us. But in that case, there was the problem of not being able to have any conversation while facing someone in such an extremely unstable state. Besides, with Yoo Jay already moving around so anxiously in a near-obsessive manner, having three more grown men crowding around him didn’t seem like it would be good for the patient either.
A deathly silence fell over the living room where we sat.
Everyone had too much on their minds to easily say something first.
Jay calling Han Seungbeom
‘hyung
‘, scenes that could only be seen in fiction, and the last words Han Seungbeom had said to me—all these memories became intertwined, creating chaos in my mind.
Han Seungbeom was still unconscious, and the only person who seemed capable of explaining the situation was Jay.
But with the all-important Yoo Jay in such a state, how could we possibly expect an explanation about this situation?
After a long silence, Cha Woon finally managed to find something appropriate to say.
“…Do you think Yoo Jay took his medication?”
Lee Chise shook his head, and replied in a bitter voice.
“I don’t think he even goes to the hospital these days.”
“Haa…….”
Cha Woon sighed heavily and ran his palm roughly across his eyes, and Lee Chise shut his eyes tightly.
They were clearly exhausted. They had every right to be; they were the ones who had handled everything rationally, from calling an ambulance to stopping Yoo Jay. In the end, they were also the ones who had made the decision on how to proceed with this situation.
There was no way this situation was any easier for them to bear.
They were surely driven by a sense of duty—the belief that, no matter how horrific the situation became, they had to remain level-headed because their younger brothers, Jay and I, were here. That responsibility was what kept them going.
I looked at them and, unable to overcome my guilt, apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
“This happened because I ran out like that.”
“Don’t think this is your fault. It was simply an accident. We all know you did it because you were thinking of Jo Inchan … so don’t feel guilty.”
The moment Cha Woon mentioned Jo Inchan’s name, Lee Chise’s face turned pale.
“…Inchan.”
“What?”
“I told him to wait for me, that I’d be there soon … He’s not still waiting for me, is he?”
We were so distraught from the accident that we had forgotten about Jo Inchan.
Realizing this, we hurriedly checked the clock. It had already been two hours since Lee Chise last contacted Jo Inchan. I immediately pulled out my phone and called him. But the sound coming through the speaker was……
“The phone is turned off. You will be connected to voicemail after the beep…….”
“…….”
Damn it, this was the worst.”
[END OF NAM YIHWON’S POV]
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Translator’s Corner:
Actually “
System Beneficiary
” is not quite accurate … “
배려 대상
” literally means
s
omeone being considered for care/kindness
… but
System’s Target of Consideration
feels really awkward, you see, in game-setting context …. sigh, the nuance is different but I have no choice…..
Uh I don’t think I’m mentally good enough for the next chapter …. this is just mentally ill person after mentally ill person after mentally ill person after mentally ill person after mentally ill person…….
Congratulations for the Anon (THIS IS WHY I TOLD YOU GUYS TO MAKE ACCOUNTS T_T WHO IS THE ANON T_T) who first commented about it … your guess is right. Honestly I’m surprised too because I already read everything so I knew what happened, but even when I translated that chapter, I didn’t even think about it …… it’s not until I read the comment that I thought, “omg … that’s right, how did you even figure that out I didn’t even notice”
Ugh and everyone please pray that my package will arrive safely tomorrow … hope the delivery man can find his way … my dumb side ordered something from web online, and I thought it would be okay BUT THEN I REALIZED I AM CURRENTLY LIVING IN A PLACE WITH NO STREET NAME, NO HOUSE NUMBER OR THINGS LIKE THAT, SO THE DELIVERY MAN IS SUPPOSED TO CONFIRM WHICH ONE IS MY HOUSE THROUGH PHONE, WHICH I DEFINITELY COULDNT PICK UP THE CALL ASDFGHJKL omg what is this stupidity ….. let’s hope I’m famous enough in this village …. everyone has been treating me like a poster child (like why I was overhearing parents scolding their kids to be grateful they still have parents not like me asdfghjkl THAT’S SO FOUL? I’M AN ADULT? it feels like since it’s been years since I went far away for college, and before that I also attended high school in the city and rarely went outside since I only arrived home at evening, all eldery people here still see me as a kid…..) so I should be easy to find if you ask someone ….. I’m so sorry, Mr. Delivery Man T_T Hope your pillow is always cold ….
Anyway, I won’t be able to open my laptop until, idk, 15 hours from now, and waiting 15 hours for me will be too long, so I will turn back the comments to normal in case you guys want to talk about the revelation on this chapter : D please be nice … if anyone saying mean things to my baby again, I will cry learn how to block people on wordpress